Arsenal are yet to have a clear picture on the contract talks with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Özil as regards extension.
With a good number of European club giants lurking around, the unease I feel as a Gunner is borderline unbearable.
Arsenal Legend Thierry Henry and fellow premier league legends Graeme Souness and Gary Neville have all had their say on the saga.
However, the opinion that resonates most with my thoughts is that of Thierry Henry.
Speaking to Sky Sports, He said;
“Those two players are vital for the future of the club, they have to secure that deal. But to what extent? I don’t know if Arsene is going to want to pay those numbers. But if they don’t sign, who are you going to bring after that? What’s the future?”
He went further saying;
“At the moment they are holding the club hostage. They are amazing but if they are on that amount of money, I want a hat-trick every week – and also when there’s no game! You need to be in a situation where you’ve won something already for the club to ask for that amount of money”
He has practically taken the words right out of my mouth. I am under no delusions as regards their importance to the Arsenal team but isn’t this prolonged saga counterproductive when results on the pitch are affected due to fractures in the spirit of camaraderie within the group?
Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny, and Francis Coquelin have all extended their contracts on a long-term basis this week. One would assume this should encourage all others to follow suit but sadly, this doesn’t seem like the case.
Then there’s the case of Oxlade-Chamberlain who’s contract has 18 months left on it as well. According to The Guardian, Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool are interested in signing him this January especially as they are missing Senegalese forward Sadio Mane who is currently representing his country in AFCON at Gabon.
Santi Carzola is also at the end of his contract and despite being injured, I would expect The North London club to extend his contract and retain his services at least for another 2 years.
Players like Santi Carzola are a rare breed and should be retained within the ranks as long as possible for they provide experience and mentorship to younger players and fellow-first teammates.
I wonder why contract renewal for key players happens all at the same time at The Emirates. Isn’t there someone who monitors and proactively encourages the club to engage in talks?
I really hope we do better and tie this guy down as soon as possible to new contracts. We don’t have the luxury for distractions at the moment.
Enjoy! COYG! !!!
